


Strawberry Smiles

by TacticalCupcakes



Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel)
Genre: Domestic Violence, Gen, Physical Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-17 10:41:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15459567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TacticalCupcakes/pseuds/TacticalCupcakes
Summary: Natsuki reminisces about a time when she was a kid with her father, then compares it to how he acts in the present.





	Strawberry Smiles

Tender snowflakes dance around me as I walk hand in hand with Papa down the street. Today’s my sixth birthday, and he’d promised to get me a special treat. Marching happily along, all bundled up in a fluffy coat and a happy li’l hat, I start to hum to myself.  

High above me, I hear a quick snicker from Papa. “What’re you doing, little bean?”

“ _I’m singing a song in the snow,_

_A happy little hop, to and fro,_

_With my hat I’ll never be sad,_

_Because I’m safe, with my dad~_ ”

 

He starts to hum along to the tune. _He’s such a good Papa!_

Suddenly, my eyes are drawn towards a sparkly sparkle in the window of a shop. With wide pupils I stare at it; a tasty looking strawberry shortcake. It looks so fluffy, and has sliced strawberries on top.

“Woah!”

I look up at Papa, his silver eyes shining. “Papa! Look at that!”

He grins down at me, and points to it. “Would you like it?”

“Really?” I gasp, my pupils dilating.

“Sure!” He laughs heartily, tousling my hair. “Come on, little bean…”

_Today is the best day ever! I can’t wait to tell Mama!_

…

 

_Okay, you can do this…_

With unsteady breaths, I slowly turn the handle of the front door, taking the greatest of care to not make any noise. With any luck, he’ll be out right now and won’t notice-

“ _Okaerinasai_ , little bean…”

I freeze, slowly turning around to face him. “H-Hi, Papa…”

His soulless gray eyes have no light in them as he glares down at me, his arms folded menacingly. “Do you want to tell me where you were this evening?”

I gulp. My hands start to shake as I try to will any muscle to move, but I’m fixed to the spot. “I-I-I was j-just at the literature club, P-Papa…”

“Oh really? That must’ve been a riot. But, tell me; wasn’t there something you forgot to do today?”

I can feel my pupils narrow, and my heart stopping. He unfolds his arms to reveal a pair of simple chopsticks in his right hand. He holds his hand out in front of him and unceremoniously drops them, allowing them to clatter against the floor.

_Oh. Oh no._

“I work so hard to keep a roof over your head…” his voice becomes low and quiet; far more terrifying than if he were to yell. “I made a wonderful dinner tonight, and you had the _nerve_ to let it go to waste…”

He takes a step towards me, and I reflexively step back. “S-S-Sorry, P-Papa… I-It was a-“

“It was the act of a BRAT!” He exclaims, smacking me brutally with the back of his hand. The sheer force sends me reeling backwards, and I land on something hard that crunches beneath me. His forceful steps clomp after me, and I hear the loose sound of his belt being removed.

Without pause, he cracks the belt against my back, causing me to yelp out in pain. He punctuates each blow with a poisonous word.

_“What”  
“Will”_

_“It”_

_“take”_

_“For”_

_“You”_

_“to”_

_“behave?!”_

Shivering, I curl up, covering my head with my arms in a vain attempt to stop the assault. With one final whip for good measure, he steps back, watching me lay on the ground sniffling.

“This had better not happen again… is that clear?”

Tears streaming down my face, I nod wordlessly.

“Good. Now, get out of here before I _really_ give you something to cry about…”

He raises his hand at me, causing me to cry out and flinch. As fast as I can, I bolt through the house and into my bedroom. Closing the door, I gently lower myself down onto my bed.

My body screams at me, each individual welt throbbing agonizingly. I look down at myself, at my tattered uniform, at…

My torn sock… the red stain…

I carefully remove my sock, and reveal a jagged cut along my shin. I must have fallen down on one of his bottles.

Limping towards my cupboard, I open the doors and pull out a small white box. Clicking open the lid, I retrieve an alcoholic wipe, a small cloth, and a spool of bandaging. Shoving the cloth into my mouth, I tear open the packaging of the wipe and rub it against the cut to clean it. It stings intensely, but the cloth between my teeth prevents me from shrieking out.

Blinking away the tears, I weakly wrap the bandage around my leg, securing it with a safety pin. Luckily, when I go back to school tomorrow, it’ll be covered up by my socks.

_Why… What did I do for this to happen…?_

Unable to hold it in anymore, I collapse into my bed and pull the covers over me, shoving my face deep into my pillow. Muffled sobs barely escape it, as the scalding tears leave an imprint.

_Why does it have to be this way?_


End file.
